Defections Could Trigger APC Collapse, Warns Ndume

Former Senate Leader Mohammed Ali Ndume has sounded the alarm over the rising tide of defections from opposition parties to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), cautioning that the party could face internal collapse if the trend continues unchecked.

Speaking on Sunday night at the late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe Annual Award Lecture at the NICON Luxury Hotel, Abuja, where he received the Most Outstanding Legislator and Advocate of National Unity award, Ndume, who represents Borno South in the Senate, dismissed many defectors as political lightweights. He warned that the APC risks becoming “overloaded with mostly empty cargo.”

The Guardian’s checks reveal that defections have intensified over the past year, weakening opposition parties. At least five governors, including those of Delta, Bayelsa, Enugu, and Taraba, have either joined or are set to join the APC. A similar move by the Plateau State governor is also anticipated.

In the Senate, 13 opposition lawmakers have defected, including Ezenwa Onyewuchi, Kawu Sumaila, Ned Nwoko, Adamu Aliero, Yahaya Abdullahi, Garba Musa Maidoki, Francis Fadahunsi, Olubiyi Fadeyi, Aniekan Bassey, Samson Ekong, Sama’ila Dahuwa Samaila, Agom Jarigbe, and Kelvin Chukwu.

The House of Representatives has seen an even bigger shift. The APC now holds 249 seats, surpassing the two-thirds majority benchmark of 240, compared to 69 for PDP, 19 for Labour Party, 13 for NNPP, and smaller numbers for other parties. At the start of the 10th National Assembly in June 2023, opposition members outnumbered the APC.

Ndume cautioned that the influx poses a structural risk: “I have warned that the APC is becoming overloaded. And when you overload a ship, especially with mostly empty cargo, it risks capsizing.” He clarified that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and APC leadership are not actively courting defectors, but are providing “political shelter” to those displaced from their original parties.

The senator criticized defectors who remain inactive despite leadership privileges, comparing them to a church member who switches churches and immediately demands to become pastor, or a convert insisting on becoming Imam. He described the government as being populated by “kakistocrats and kleptocrats.”

Despite his critiques, Ndume urged Nigerians to support President Tinubu, acknowledging his sincerity, but faulted the competence of several ministers and presidential aides. “We suffer from a lack of leadership, not because the president is not leading, but because one person cannot be the captain, the player, the goalkeeper, and the striker all at once,” he said. He called on APC leaders to rally behind the president to restore coherence.

Earlier, Dame Uche Azikiwe, widow of Nigeria’s first President, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, praised the lecture organizers for preserving her husband’s legacy. She lamented the decline of selfless leadership and encouraged current leaders to emulate First Republic figures such as Zik, Obafemi Awolowo, and Sir Ahmadu Bello.

“They are long gone but their legacies live on,” she said. “Leaders of the First Republic were selfless, unlike many leaders today who prioritize their pockets.”